Parshat Naso – Rabbi Eliezer Shenvald

At the heart of our parsha are several subjects in succession: the distancing of impure people from the camp, me'ilah (misuse of consecrated items), sotah (a married woman suspected of adultery), Nazir, and the blessing of the Cohanim (priests). The Sages offer several explanations as to the connection between them, but the simplest one is that the Torah wanted to link between various dimensions of Israel's unique holiness: the holiness of the camp, of property, of the family unit and Jewish modesty, of those who become Nezirim and of the priesthood.
From the chapter on the sotah we can learn about the unique Jewish strategic approach to the relationship between the sexes, "The Israeli Ideological Modesty" in comparison to "Functional Modesty" and the high standards of modesty that Judaism raises for us.
The parsha also details the sotah's drinking the bitter "cursing" water, the miraculous means of discovering and identifying concealed violations of modesty and the holiness of the family unit. This is connected to the utmost importance which Judaism places on the holiness of the family, and the loyalty of husband and wife to each other. "In no realm of the Torah besides this one does the judgment depend on a miracle, and this is a wonder and a miracle that will occur in Israel permanently, as long as most of the nation is doing G-d's will. And He desires in His righteousness to warn the women (and men) not to act immorally like the other nations, and also to purify Israel from mamzerut (children conceived in adultery) so that His Divine Presence can dwell among them. Therefore this (practice of checking the sotah) ceased when they were corrupted with sins, as it says (Talmud Sotah 47a): 'When the adulterers multiplied, the (checking by) the sotah waters ceased.' In order that this great miracle will not happen for them, for their honor and being a holy nation, and they will not recognize or want this good thing." (Ramban Bamidbar 5:20)
In the case that a sin occurred, the water causes retribution against both of the sinners, the man and the woman. "Just as she is punished, so is he." (Sifri, Naso 15) And if it turns out that the suspicion was false, the water gives the woman "compensation" in the form of a blessing for fertility: "And she will be acquitted and will conceive." (Bamidbar 5:28)
From the dawn of history, the human race has recognized the natural inclination of one sex toward the other, and on its power to influence our conduct, for good or for bad. It has tried to channel it to its purpose, as a motivating force for establishing a family and continuing mankind. For this it established clear boundaries between the family framework and relationships between men and women in society.
Man is the "crown of creation." "The man is above the beast" in that he is created "in G-d's image" and was given elevated characteristics. The lustful inclination is liable to distract his attention, to turn him into an "object" for low desires, and cloud his personality's talents and cheapen his value.
Humanity is exposed to cynical abuse of human weakness against the inclination. People with commercial and perverted interests exploit it systematically to their own advantage.
For this reason humanity accepted guidelines of morality and modesty, and some of them are enforced by law.
Nevertheless we must differentiate between two levels. The first – functional modesty, is essentially is a set of rules and principles whose purpose is prevention and protection, to keep people from falling into the net of lust, and transgressing the bounds of modesty. In a nutshell, this includes restraint, conquering the inclination, and strict precautions against transgressions. This is in the spirit of "ain apotropus le'arayot" (Tosefta Ketubot 1,9) meaning: no man has a guarantee that he will be able to resist temptation. By this approach, the rules of modesty between the sexes in society, dress, and prohibition of yichud (being alone together) are all a form of placing barriers and boundaries before the urge and creating "safe zones" to distance people from sin, in order to neutralize temptations and stimulation of inclinations.
The second approach is "The Ideal Israeli Modesty." It is a proactive, positive approach and not a defensive one. Its purpose is to instill an attitude of dignified respect for human attributes, especially G-d's image, which is in every person. It sets high standards for maximum nobility, gentleness and honor in the relationship between the sexes in society.
All of the above are expressed most strongly by creating a certain distance from contact and intimacy, exactly as it is universally accepted to keep a respectful distance from very important people – public figures who command our respect.
Along with this comes heightened sensitivity, as well as an understanding of the meaning of delicate nuances, similar to other fields where high quality goes together with attention to fine nuances. Modesty in clothing is an expression of respect to man's image, and not just a way to prevent temptation. Observance of the laws of yichud is another type of high standard, and not just a way to prevent falling into sin.
This is the kind of modesty that Bilaam recognized with his sharp eye, when he gazed at the camp of Israel and was forced to bless: "How good are your tents Yaakov, your habitations Israel."